The present invention relates to structural bearings, that is bearings which are intended to accommodate relatively small movements at low relative velocities but under very great loads. Such movements may be as a result of thermal expansions and contractions in such structures as roofs, bridge supports or pipeline supports.
The present invention is particularly applicable to supports for pipelines, though is useful in other applications.
Pipelines are generally mounted on regularly spaced supports through structural bearings. Frequently, there is a misalignment between the pipe and the support pillar, with the result that the interposed bearing cannot operate effectively even through the pillar may be located accurately at the correct height by survey. Such misalignments may be an axial misalignment in which the pillar is inclined axially with respect to the pipe or a transverse misalignment in which the pillar is inclined tranversely with respect to the pipe or, more frequently, a combination of the two.